Latest developments in technology for delivering power and data in wireless infrastructure use hybrid cables, wherein the term “hybrid cable” is intended to mean a cable that includes both power conductors and one or more fiber optic cords or cables. An exemplary hybrid cable is the HFF cable, available from CommScope, Inc. (Joliet, Ill.). Unlike RF-based systems, a single hybrid trunk cable can be used to power multiple sectors, thereby eliminating multiple runs of RF cable.
In order to use a single hybrid trunk cable, at some point the trunk cable must transition to jumper cables. Typically, these are distributed inside an enclosure that transitions the trunk conductor gauge to the jumper conductor gauge and connects the optical fibers in the trunk to the optical fibers in the jumper cables. Exemplary enclosures are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/448,269, filed Jul. 31, 2104, and Ser. No. 15/071,620, filed Mar. 16, 2016, the disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety. The enclosures discussed therein employ hybrid power/fiber connectors (also called “multi-media” connectors) that are connected with hybrid jumper cables.
Because they are often employed outdoors (e.g., at the top of an antenna tower), hybrid connectors include sealing elements (such as gaskets, O-rings and the like) to maintain watertightness at the interface. The inclusion of sealing elements can increase the cost of the connectors. It may be desirable to provide additional designs for connectors that provide sealing capability.